The NCPA May Festival 2019 will be visited by the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the “Big Five Orchestras”. From May 17^th to 18^th, the Philadelphia Orchestra will give two concerts with Chinese pianist ZHANG Haochen and soprano LEI Jia under the baton of its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin to round off the May Festival. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated “Midnight Rose” concert of jazz will kick off with Lisa Ono making her debut to weave a romantic and tender summer evening.

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin

The Philadelphia Orchestra, which has a history of one hundred years, is a world-class orchestra that has been led by many maestros such as Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy and Riccardo Muti. Since 2012, Yannick Nézet-Séguin took it over. Yannick has been appeared at the Concert Hall many times with the orchestra. Every time they came, Yannick and the orchestra performed with verve for audiences. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations. In such a memorable year, Yannick and the Philadelphia Orchestra will spend two days performing works by TAN Dun, Beethoven, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff and Schubert to offer audience a feast of symphony with full sincerity.

Chinese pianist ZHANG Haochen

On the 17^th, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 will be played first. 46 years ago, the Philadelphia Orchestra made its first visit to China with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. This time, they will once again play this piece of special significance to arouse a whole generation’s memory of music. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, also known as Pastoral Symphony, will be played in the second half. At the closing concert on the 18^th, the orchestra will perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist ZHANG Haochen. The concert will be rounded off with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 “Great”.

Composer TAN Dun


Chinese opera artist LEI Jia

The famous composer TAN Dun’s Festive Overture and vocal concerto Dunhuang Frescoes - The Story of the Nine-Coloured Deer, commissioned by both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the NCPA, will have their world premiere. The Festive Overture sounds imposing and magnificent, combining the beautiful Chinese melody with the American rhythm, but it is still of the distinctive style exclusive to TAN Dun; The Dunhuang Frescoes - The Story of the Nine-Coloured Deer, adapted from a fresco in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, tells a story about a nine-coloured deer risking its life to save a drowning person but being relentlessly betrayed. Composed as a vocal concerto in terms of genre, this work taps the soprano’s potential of shaping her voice. This greatly challenging soprano part will be acted out by LEI Jia.

Jazz singer Lisa Ono

On the evening of 18^th, the audience will welcome the arrival of jazz singer Lisa Ono, who will make her debut to start a “Midnight Rose” concert to show her tender romance in a pure Bossa Nova style. The recital is also one of the important shows staged at the 19^th “Meet in Beijing” Arts Festival.

Lisa Ono and the orchestra will appear with her most popular songs, including classic songs such as Fly me to the Moon, Summertime, Moonlight Serenade and Blue Canary. Besides, she will continue her tradition to sing some Chinese pop songs familiar to audience, such as Faye Wong’s I’m Willing in Chinese. After the performance in the Concert Hall, Lisa Ono will move her steps to the public space of the NCPA to join in a free and romantic jazz party to spend a night with splendid music and fine food for the audience.